By Katherine Casarrubias Gallardo
Over 100 students gathered at the Fence on Nov. 8 to paint a message of solidarity and hope after the reelection of Donald Trump. Katherine Casarrubias Gallardo/ Staffwriter
Students at Carnegie Mellon woke up on Wednesday morning to learn that President-elect Donald J. Trump won the 2024 presidential election, making him the second president to win a reelection non-consecutively, the oldest person to become president and the first convicted felon to be elected president, according to the Associated Press.
Members of the Carnegie Mellon community sent a message of hope to those disappointed by the election results by taking to the Fence to write “Stay Strong” on the front and “This too shall pass” on the back of the Fence. On the right most pillar, the words “Fuck Trump” were written as well, which violates the university’s Disorderly Conduct Policy as well as the Student Government’s Graffiti and Poster Policy, according to a post on Instagram from the Carnegie Mellon Undergraduate Student Senate.
“At about 12:20 p.m., we painted over the obscenity to uphold compliance with university policies, while preserving the intent of the original message,” added the Carnegie Mellon Undergraduate Student Senate. The letters “uck” were covered with white paint so that the fence read “F Trump” instead. After this, the Fence was defaced through the conversion of the “F” to an “A.”
Then, on Nov. 8, members of the Carnegie Mellon College Republicans took to the Fence to express their satisfaction with Donald J. Trump’s win of the presidential election, painting the Fence red and, in white paint, writing “The silent majority spoke” on the front, “President Trump, RIP Peanut” on the back and “MAGA” on one of the side pillars of the Fence.
In an Instagram post made by @cmufence, the Carnegie Mellon College Republicans wrote “The Carnegie Mellon College Republicans are grateful to have been a part of the large number of young people who were critical in deciding this election, especially in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. We congratulate President-elect Trump on his victory.”
In response to the Fence painting by the Carnegie Mellon College Republicans, members from the Carnegie Mellon College Democrats, the Carnegie Mellon College Progressives, KGB, PRISM, SPIRIT, Robotics Club, Scotch ‘n’ Soda Theatre, Spanish and Latin Student Association (SALSA) among other students of the Carnegie Mellon community came together to repaint the Fence.
Students gathered early in the afternoon around the Fence, placing signs and LGBTQ+ flags to indicate their dissociation with the Republican party. Signs read, “We are not Republicans,” and that the design on the Fence “was not us.”
The organizers behind the events, Ryan Tosh, Avalon Sueiro, Devin Gaichas, and River Sepinuck, spoke to The Tartan about their motivation to repaint the Fence and the significance of such an event.
When asked about how the event started, the organizers said that various student organizations were planning to repaint the Fence around the same time. They created a group chat and continuously added anyone interested in repainting the Fence there.
The cause garnered a lot of attention and support from members of the Carnegie Mellon community as Sepinuck added, “a lot of professors who have come by have thanked us for what we’re doing or offered to get us food.” Individuals participating in the event brought supplies from their own organizations, brought food, and played music, converting the event into a get-together.
Sueiro, president of the Carnegie Mellon College Democrats, said “The Republicans claim to be a silent majority, but I see a much larger majority at least here on campus and this one’s not going to be quiet.” She added, “a lot of us particularly worked really hard to try and get Kamala Harris elected” and were “incredibly disappointed” at her loss.
Though the election was hard to process for many individuals in our community, events like the repainting of the Fence that took place on the night of Nov. 7 generated a feeling of hope for people like Tosh, Gaichas, Sepinuck and Sueiro, who felt better being there with so many people that “care as deeply as we do about human rights and about some of the many issues that divided the election.”
When asked why so many people showed up, Gaichas said he thinks “the previous few days paired with the last Fence left a lot of us feeling isolated and a little bit hopeless. People seemed really excited to be able to channel some of their energy into something they could do with a community that was forming around showing each other we were not alone.”
“It’s very easy to lose faith in your fellow Americans and people around you because of the results of the election, but I think having this really kind of reinforces in me that there are people who are good, who are caring, and there is a safe space in this community,” Sepinuck said.
Another organizer, Tosh, commented on his amazement with the amount of people that showed up.
“When I made the spreadsheet for who’d be holding the Fence, I put three columns on it, so I was like, ‘We’re maybe gonna get three people here, and then we’ve had at least 20, like, the entire night,’” Tosh said.
Before repainting took place, however, the individuals involved wanted to take a picture in front of the Fence so that, collectively, they covered the message written by the Carnegie Mellon College Republicans. The group photo contained a total of 109 students across various colleges and student organizations upon counting. As more and more people came, a recounting of the number of people present was done, which showed that over 160 individuals came to show their support.
The new message on the Fence reads “We will reclaim the future” on the front and handprints and signatures from those who participated on the back of the Fence. On both edge pillars of the Fence is a link that leads to a list of websites of organizations across the Pittsburgh area that provide food, clothing, housing, medical, mental health, legal and community resources. The link is https://linktr.ee/pghresources.
The activism chair for PRISM, Zarmond Goodman, said, “The difference between this Fence and the last is that everyone here loves each other and loves others. No matter what identity you hold, you matter, you are loved, and the outcome of this election doesn’t change that. We aren’t free ’till we’re all free!”
The following morning, pictures of the event along with a finished version of the newly painted Fence were posted to the @cmufence account on Instagram. The post has gained over 2,800 likes on Instagram and counting.
The event certainly lifted the spirits of those who participated.
“I don’t think any of us who participated could be more thrilled with the turnout and support that night, and I think it’s important for us to keep that going,” Gaichas said. “As we continue forward I think it’s going to be crucial to keep showing up and looking out for one another and working as a support system. This is definitely not where the work stops, and I’m confident we’ll be able to lean on each other as the work continues.”
When asked why she believed it was significant for members of all of these organizations to show up, Sueiro said, “We were all hurt by the fact that half of America would rather have this felon in charge of the country than an incredibly competent, amazing black woman.”
“Whatever the personal reasons behind this decision were, every single person felt the need to express the fact that we are still here. We are still fighting to be together, while there are people who are trying to tear us apart.”